Making It Real

What if the reason this work feels unclear… is because you’ve been trying to approach it from your mind instead of your body?

Cari takes the conversation out of theory and into practice, answering the question so many people quietly carry: how do I actually do this? Not conceptually, not intellectually—but in a way that creates real movement.

Using the metaphor of Ruth Asawa’s wire sculptures, she reframes the work as something whole—where what’s visible and what’s hidden, what’s formed and what’s shadowed, all belong to the same structure. Nothing is separate. Nothing is extra. The shadow isn’t a problem—it’s part of the art.

From there, she offers a grounded, repeatable five-step process—not as a rigid method, but as a way of learning how to come back into relationship with yourself. Safety. Listening. Staying. Expanding. Integrating. Each step gently interrupts the habit of living outside of the body and invites a different kind of attention—one that’s slower, more honest, and less controlled.

What emerges isn’t about fixing anything.

It’s about learning how to be with what’s already there—long enough for it to reveal something true.

And trusting that what’s been buried isn’t random… it’s waiting.

The Treasures in the Trash:

1. Making the Work Tangible – Cari shifts from concept to application, offering a grounded way to begin engaging with inner truth work.
2. The Shadow as Part of the Whole – Using Ruth Asawa’s sculptures, she reframes shadow not as separate, but as essential to the full expression of self.
3. Why Look If Life Feels Fine – Even in stable or happy lives, unseen patterns continue to live in the body and shape experience.
4. A Five-Step Path Inward – Safety, listening, allowing, expanding, and integrating form a repeatable practice for engaging the body’s truth.
5. The Body as the Entry Point – Real transformation happens not through thinking, but through sensing, feeling, and staying present with what arises.

About Cari:

Cari Jacobs-Crovetto is an executive and leadership coach and the founder of Brave Directions, where she works with senior leaders and C-suite executives to strengthen interpersonal and team relationships, navigate conflict skillfully, and deepen self-awareness, influence, and confidence.

Before becoming a coach, Cari spent three decades in marketing and product leadership roles across Fortune 100 companies, media networks, consulting firms, and venture-backed startups. In 2019, she was named one of Forbes’ Top 50 Chief Marketing Officers.

Cari brings together decades of operating experience with more than 45 years of Buddhist meditation study and practice, integrating deep inner work with practical leadership development.

She facilitates the renowned Interpersonal Dynamics (“Touchy Feely”) course at Stanford Graduate School of Business where she also coaches grad school students, leads meditation classes and leadership workshops, and hosts the podcast Finding Treasures in the Trash.

Her mantra: Fierce Heart — where compassion meets bold, badass leadership.

https://www.bravedirections.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carisf/

https://www.instagram.com/cari_bravedirections/

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

Mentioned in this episode:

This show was brought to you in part by the Magic Thread Media Network. To learn more visit: https://magicthreadmedia.com/